At what age do you allow your child to walk to school alone? )

We live about 5 blocks from my sons elementary school. you have to go up 2 blocks and then over 3. 1 of the blocks there isnt a sidewalk so he would have to walk on the side of the road. Our road isnt too busy, but the road with the school on it is obviously quite busy with school getting out. He keeps begging me to let him walk alone because another child down the road does.Im way over-protective so im wondering what others think. What age would be normal to let him do this?

Personally I would not let my child walk to school alone until he was a teenager, I live by the elementary school and I will be walking my child to school when he is old enough to attend. I would just let your son know that although his friend walks to school alone, it doesn't mean he should.

Parents should not let a child walk to school alone until they are mature enough to assess positives and negatives of the surroundings as well as the society they live in.

Walking to school is fun, but because of safety concerns, such as speeding motorists, fear of abductions, a lack of sidewalks, and unsafe street crossings one has to think!

There has to be a solution and it seems to 'promote health, safety, physical activity and concern for the environment,' children and parents all over the world observe International Walk a Child to School Day.

Is there a Walk to School Day program in your area?

You can check the Walk To School Event Calendar to see Who's Walking and to see if a Walk to School Day is being observed in your area.

If there isn't a program in your area, it is not to late to start one. Review the resources on the Walk to School Day website, prepare a proclamation or press release, print flyers and distribute to them to parents and schools in your community.

Before starting a Walk to School event or allowing your own children to walk to school, you do want to make sure that your neighborhood is 'walkable.'

To test your neighborhoods walkability, you should take a walk with your child along the route that he or she would take to school. Among the questions you should ask yourself, and included in the Walk to School Walkability Checklist, about your child's route to school include:

Did you have room to walk?

Was it easy to cross streets?

Did drivers behave well?

Could you follow safety rules?

Was you walk pleasant?

If you neighborhood isn't very walkable, you should take steps to improve your community and make it safer for your kids to walk to school. Problems might include a lack of sidewalks, crosswalks or traffic signals, or too much traffic.

My son walks to school alone - he is ten and it is a 5 - 10 min walk. He walked from around the age of 9 and a half, after one of us had seen him across the main road - now he just crosses at the crossing.

This is a difficult question to answer, however, because everyone's opinion will be different depending on the area they live in. My son's walk to school is very safe and once you have crossed the main road the route is pretty quiet. Most of the children in his school year walk alone. They are going to high school in september - this is a half hour walk and I know that the majority of children walk there with their friends. In my opinion, and the opinon of all other mothers that I know, the kids need the practice and need to develop independence. However, once again this is only based on knowledge of my own environment, and I would not want to suggest what parents living elsewhere should do.

Also, I would just like to add that there suddenly came a time when I felt that my son was mature and sensible enough to make this walk, sometimes you just 'know' what feels right.

I do walk him to school when we are able to, weather permitting. I agree that there are TONS of safety issues which is why I havent let him yet. I was just making sure I wasnt the only one thinking like this. THe other child that does walk to school next door is a bit older, but he is always walking in the middle of the road and going down other roads on his way home. After seeing that I have even more hesitation. We do live in a great area and its not a huge city.

I don't! I've seen too many shows where kids disappear and are never seen again. Even kids who's parents taught them to not talk to strangers or scream for help... the predator was overpowering and took them! So NEVER for me!

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